Shai Hope defends. Walks a bit, taps his bat on the pitch, goes back to face the next delivery. He glances one to the third man, gets Hetmyer back on strike.
Hope is a calm man. As his name goes, he is the hope of any team he plays. He keeps it simple, loves to score when it matters and as long as he is in, the team can sleep. Hope knows his role well and he stays true to the same. He likes to score silently while other players destroy the bowlers around him. He is not an instant killer like others in the team but a slow poison.
Hetmyer neither looks at the scoreboard nor likes to defend. He holds the bat tight as he watches the bowler, the field and waits. He waits for the bad ball. At times, he muscles them for fun; left, right and straight. It’s more like a slap than a glance. The ball travels miles in a whisker and all you can do it is watch it sail over the ground.
It doesn’t matter how the pitch behaves. Be it slow and tricky, two-paced or fast. Once he sees the ball, moves to the position, even the ball knows that there is going to be a big shot. The ball stops for him, waits for him to power it out of the ground.
Hope loves to stay unbeaten. He loves to bat through, take his home safe. He loves the endings. I know this is a worse comparison but I couldn’t resist. Hope is like a friend in the movie who is more like a second hero, staying in the shadows of the star. He is the one who travels all along with the movie and silently does his job. He is the guy whom you don’t pay to watch for but you wouldn’t ignore him.
Hetmyer loves to take on the bowler. He loves to finish things off quickly. He loves to stay ahead, grab the attention, be dangerous and bring the twists and turns to the movie. He is capable of changing the result of the game with a single delivery. He is the hero in the movie, a star you’d love to put your cash in.
They both are contrasting with a single aim, to win the match for the side. Even after Hetmyer’s dismissal, Hope did what he always does, taking the team home. Both the players are different and still at their best on the same day. They were complimenting each other and understood each other’s strength. After all, cricket is a team game and complimenting the players in the middle is important of all. The beauty of the game lies there.
